The First Week

As most of you know, William went back to work this week. He was home for 5 weeks to help with the girls and it was amazing. I write aboutthe days as they happened. Here's how it went...

Monday:

There is just NO WAY today was Monday. I got way too much done for it to be Monday! Everything went my way! I got 4 loads of laundry done and put away, cleaned every room, vacuumed every room, organized some cabinets... the list goes on! We even all got outside for some fresh air. Who needs husbands??

Tuesday:

Me. I need husbands. 5 of them. My butt hurts from being stuck on the couch with two crying babies.  I have gotten nothing at all done. William flies tonight which means we are in for a looooong evening...Pizza for dinner? Yes, please. 

Wednesday:

Less awful. Delilah is the only one fussing today. Luckily, I had enough hands to throw some food in the crock pot for dinner and get a few things done around the house. Counting the hours until William is home...

Thursday:

It's a four day weekend so today is our Friday. Awesome day. The babies didn't make a single peep! The big kids were super helpful and sweet and kept their toys cleaned up. We ordered pizza for lunch to celebrate the week being OVER!

Recap:

All in all, there will be awesome days and days where I think I will give up and beg William to come home. Having twins isn't that hard (for us), but having FOUR tiny humans who need you constantly is just plain exhausting and frequently frustrating (like when I JUUUUUST sit down and get comfy holding the girls and a little voice says "mommy...I so thirsty..." ugh.) but it's so fun and worth it to be a mom. I'm very lucky to get to stay at home with all my precious babes. I wouldn't pass that up for anything!

-Kacy

We are back!/1 month update

It has been about a year since I last used this blog. Soon after my last post, we began to prepare to move back to Kansas and welcome William home from his tour in Afghanistan. In the past year, we have spent a lot of time getting reconnected and have grown as a family...in more ways than one! Our family has 4 more feet! We now have two beautiful, identical twin girls. I actually have decided to restart this blog because of them! I know all of our friends and family back East would like more updates and photos than I can put on FaceBook. With four children, there is A LOT to update about very often! And, honestly, I don't think FaceBook makes a good platform for that, either. Point being: this blog is back in action (for now).

So, a little family update is in order!

Luka: this baby just turned four (FOUR!!!) on March 8. He has started homeschool preschool and loves doing school work! He has taken on the huge responsibility of being a big brother to THREE sisters! The phrases "I want to help!" "hi, my cute little sisters!" "aww, shhh, baby, it's okay." "I need to take care of my sisters" and other adorable phrases are now a part of his daily vocabulary. He is doing more chores and does just about everything he is asked of with no fuss. From getting Eloise a drink when I'm stuck on the couch with two sleeping babes to cleaning up his toys and even other people's messes. Luka has grown up and changed SO MUCH this year. I am infinitely proud of him!

Eloise: This big girl just turned two on February 21! She speaks im complete, full sentences well beyond her age. She knows how to count to 5 and can undress herself (and half dress herself!). She was making a lot of headway and progress with potty training, but having the babies set her back. She says she wants to be a baby in diapers. No worries. She will do it when she is ready :) She is still Minnie Mouse OBSESSED. She loves to sing the theme song (in her words: "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, come inside! fun inside! HEY!") all day long. Eloise is a dancing machine! She loves to dance and loves music. She is super silly and sassy. She loves her brother more than anyone in the world. Eloise also loves having babies here. She thinks they are so cute and loves to squeeze them!

Daisy and Delilah: they are ONE MONTH OLD today! Daisy is 6lb5oz, 20 inches long and Delilah is 6lb8oz, 20.5 inches long. They both lost a lot of weight after birth, but are gaining it back slowly but surely. They both sleep about 5 hour stretches at night and are starting to wake up a bit during the day. They are both exclusively breastfeeding and had a drop of formula. (Despite nursing Luka and Eloise for two years each, I am way more proud of this!! nursing TWO newborns!!) Both girls love being swaddled and cuddled. They look more alike every day!

William and I are doing well. He has been off work for a little over a month and goes back on Monday. I am nervous to do it all by myself, but confident that I can handle it. Like I've said, I've got my big helpers to assist me! and if all else fails...there's always wine ;) 

-Kacy

Life Lately

This is an update on my

sweet boy! Luka is doing pretty good. He has another GI appointment in a about two weeks. Based off of how he is doing with his current treatment, I suspect there will be further testing and investigation on what may be wrong. He isn't doing as well as I had hoped. Luckily, we have gotten his allergy testing over with, though. Hopefully this will be over soon enough as well.

We are considering speech therapy for him, though. he will be 3 in a few weeks and, though he talks A LOT which complex thoughts and sentences, a lot of the words seem to get mangled on their way out of his mouth. He has his own special language that I'm pretty much the only interpreter of. It's frustrating and I can't even understand his words half the time. He has all the brain work going, but it's getting lost coming out, which is frustrating for him!

In other Luka news, we have started homeschool! Luka is now doing preschool lessons every day. He LOVES it and always begs for "MORE SCHOOL MORE SCHOOL!" and jumps up to turn the TV off. He has done shapes, colors, numbers, and even did a money lesson at the store the other day. I am so proud of him.

He is also in the "why" stage...except being William's son, he has to make it harder with a "why not?" SO MUCH MORE DIFFICULT TO ANSWER! Enjoy this conversation had at the dollar store...

"Mommy, I want to go to my birthday party."

"It isn't your birthday yet, Luka."

"Why not?"

"Because you weren't born yet."

"Why not?"

"Because you weren't ready yet."

"Why not?"

"Because you weren't done growing in my belly."

"Why not?"

"Because not enough time had passed."

"Why not?"

"...I don't know..."

"Let's go to my birthday party."

You win, little man. You win.

-Kacy

Becoming A Doula

I recently was very fortunate to win admission for the Intuitive Childbirth by way of the lottery drawings they offer monthly. Intuitive Childbirth is a training organization that doesn't charge tuition for their training and bases their practice around the moral of "paying it forward." It does, however, have its fees associated with the courses which is where the lottery comes in. Every month, they draw from applicants to have these fees waived for 6 months. I was beyond excited to hear I was one of these lucky people.

Ever since having Luka, I have been searching for what I want to do. Staying at home is definitely my calling, but I also enjoy work. I enjoy being busy. I enjoy helping people. At first, I wanted to do lactation consulting, but soon changed my mind. I lost passion for it when I realized "how can I help women having issues I never had?" I never had a single issue with breastfeeding. It came easy to me. I was again lost in knowing what I wanted to do.

It wasn't until I had Eloise that I knew. When I gave birth to Eloise, William wasn't there. My best friend, Grace, was with me for moral support, but she is not a parent and has never witnessed a live birth so, of course, she had no idea what to expect. We didn't discuss my birth plan or what my wishes were or how serious I was about it. I really wanted an unmedicated birth with the freedom to roam around in my labor. I refused a wheelchair when checking in and I asked first thing to get up out of the bed when I got in and no one was listening. Nurses kept changing and I was concentrating and in pain and unable to fight for what I wanted. I was wailing through contractions and pressured into an epidural. Had they checked me beforehand, they would have known I was in so much pain because I was at 9 centimeters already. I gave birth less than 15 minutes after the epidural was in place and it had barely kicked in. I wish I had had William there to help me. I was tired and hurting and being asked 5 times a minute if I just wanted the epidural. I just wanted to squeeze someone's hand. I just wanted someone to look me in the eyes and tell me I could do it. Or tell me I was doing great. Not to be quieter or "the pain is only going to get worse" (yes, this was really said to me). But I didn't have that.

After I going through the experience of giving birth without a partner, I would never wish that experience on my worst enemy. It was scary and lonely and uncomfortable. I decided I wanted to be a doula and do my best to prevent any other woman from going through what I did. I want to help empower women to be confident in their birth and birth the way they want to. Whether that be by c-section, with an epidural, all natural, whatever. I want to be there for the women who would otherwise feel alone. It is so important to feel confident when you are doing the most amazing thing in the world, especially when that thing is painful and hard. You need support. Someone who understands what you want out of the birth and who can help you make that happen. I want to be that person.

So here I go. I am starting my training to become a certified birthing doula. Once I am certified and established, I plan to keep my focus on military spouses who will not be able to have their significant others with them for the births of their children. Of course, I am always willing to help anyone who would desire my services.

I am so excited to start my training and my new career as a birthing doula. :)

-Kacy

Recent Events

I've been totally consumed with holidays and life and just never having time to update this blog. For that, I am sorry! but here is a little breakdown of what has been going on...

-thousands of coffee shop dates and play dateswith our friends.

-Eloise has her 9 month check up at the doctor and she is perfect! almost 19 lbs now. The doctor predicts she will be walking any day now!

-Luka recently went to the Emergency Room after not having a bowel movement for 2 weeks. He has been having so many stomach issues for a long time now and it has just been getting worse and worse. We have some appointments set up with a pediatric GI specialist and can't wait for some answers. My poor boy.

-He also potty trained himself! One day, he told me he wanted to use the potty so he just started going! after a few accidents on day one, he has had a perfect record since. even over nap time! tonight, he requested to wear underwear to bed as well. here's to hoping I don't have extra laundry in the morning!

-Eloise is teething and cutting some more teeth which can leave her a bit fussy. Hoping for more chompers soon!

-We move NEXT WEEKEND!

and the biggest news yet....

WE ARE OFFICIALLY HALF WAY DONE WITH THIS DEPLOYMENT! woohoo!!!

I hope to be able to update this more as we settle into our new home and the holidays quit consuming my life!

-Kacy

Eloise is 9 Months Old!

I cannot believe my little girl has now officially been out of my womb as long as she was in! Born at exactly 39 weeks and now 39 weeks old. 

Eloise is such an incredible joy. She is the happiest baby ever. Everyone always comments on how she never cries and is genuinely always in a good mood. She is cuddly, excitable, and so smart.

At nine months old she...

-is still breastfed

-wakes 1-2 times at night

-naps twice a day

-claps

-crawls

-pulls up to stand

-takes steps occasionally while holding onto things

-sometimes stands with no assistance

-can eat any food and loves it all

-says "mama" "dada" and sometimes "hi"

she likes:

-MUSIC

-when her dad calls her

-playing with her brother

-riding in the stroller

-jumping

-kisses

-mirrors

she dislikes:

-having toys taken from her

-changing her clothes

-being buckled into her car seat

-when mama leaves her sight

Overall, Eloise is the most sensational little girl. She loves to dance and play with toys. She is obsessed with rolling on the floor with her brother and practically bursts at the seams from excitement when her dad calls her. Eloise loves looking through her photos of Daddy and snuggling in bed with her Mama. She is cloth diapered full time and still nurses often with no signs of stopping. Her favorite foods are blueberries, bananas, apples, and graham crackers. 

I am so unbelievably lucky to have such a perfect and amazing daughter. She is such a pleasure to watch grow and I am so excited for her first holidays :)

-Kacy

Busy Bees

I really miss Kansas, but one thing I do LOVE about VA is we are ALWAYS busy! My calendar hasn't had a single empty day on it since we got here and I see no end in sight. We have standing playdates on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons. Tuesdays and Thursdays we usually have cleaning, shopping, or friend visiting to do. Weekends are filled with activities like going to Maryland to see our best friends or events around town.

This past weekend the kids spent their first night away from me EVER and it was crazy! I went out with some friends to celebrate a birthday and left the kids with their Grandma Kate. They had a great time, but they were SO EXCITED to see me! I couldn't even sleep in the next morning because I was so excited too. I rushed to get them and spent the rest of the day snuggling them up!

Tomorrow we will be heading to DC to spend the weekend with my dad and we are stoked! Luka has been using his suitcase so much lately and he loves it. That kid loves to travel!

We have all been doing great. Eloise has cut her first two teeth and Luka has learned a ton of new words. Every day he asks me to play with his friends! We have been gearing up to move again, this time to our "permanent" VA residence and getting ready for the holidays. I have completed the kids' Christmas gifts which is such a relief! (Now I get to obsess over their birthday party, right?)

William has been doing great as well. The kids love to Skype with him and Luka loves to talk about his Daddy to everyone he meets. Eloise looks at her photo album of her Daddy a couple times a day and loves to smack his picture (or try to eat it...).

All in all, Virginia is suiting us! I love all the options to keep busy and enjoy never having a spare minute. Even though some days still seem slow, the pace of this deployment is picking up nicely. I just can't wait until we can put it behind us and be together as a family again!

-Kacy